How to Claim Your Rights If You Were Injured by A Drunk Driver
It can be a challenge to get any justice when you're hit and injured on the road. You can rarely prove the case – that you were on the right. The other thing is that insurance will try to get out of paying the claim if they have - even if a drunk driver hits you.
You can use several steps to ensure that your claim is honored when a drunk driver injures you. The process may be tedious, but it can be done when you commit. Here's how you can claim your rights when a drunk driver injures you.
Get Medical Assistance
Like with any other accident, the first thing you need to do is to get medical help right away. When you seek medical assistance immediately, it ensures your future health and mobility. Some injuries don't show up immediately after the accident.
It may need some scans to ensure that all is well. You can go home, and the injury escalates after a week, which may jeopardize your overall health. The emergency room has all the machines that will ensure all damages are detected and can be treated.
Get in Touch with Police
When involved in an accident, you need to ensure that the police get there. If the police can't come to the accident scene, you must get to the police station. When you can't get in touch with the police, you can have someone else call them.
Every minute that passes, the alcohol level goes down, making it hard to prove the case. If the driver isn't to beat the case, the police should come and administer a breathalyzer test on the drunk driver. A delay can result in the driver winning the case in court.
Keep Medical Records
After the police come and you get to the hospital, you need to keep the medical records in place. These records can help you get the best possible outcome out of your claim. Here's how the medical reports help your claim;
The link between the injury and the accident – the medical report will directly show the crash and the damage. The drunk driver can say otherwise if there are no records.
The severity of the injury – only a medical report can prove the extent of the injury and that you haven't exaggerated
Cost of treatment – here, there will be a calculation of the economic impact and medical expenses to figure out the cost of treatment
The treatment used to take care of the injury – what you endured during and after the crash-will calculate the settlement.
Protect Your Rights
You have a right to compensation when you are involved in a car accident. You need to protect these rights, and that's why you need to get in touch with a lawyer. If you are from Alabama, the lawyer should specialize in drunk driver accidents in Alabama – they know the terrain. And there are several aspects of the claim that a lawyer can help you with;
Adjuster Taking Advantage
In most cases, the insurance adjuster will try to take advantage by offering you a settlement check. This will usually come a few weeks after the accident, and you will have to pay for your medical bills out of it.
Once you do the math, you'll find that the check offered wasn't even enough to cater for all the expenses plus therapy.
Not to Settle Early
A lawyer will also help ensure that you haven't settled the case early enough. See, when you settle the case before your treatments are done, you will have to spend again- this time from your pocket.
You need to complete the settlement after the doctor gives you the all-clear. This is when you are sure no other complication will come out of the injury and treatment.
Statement
When the adjuster asks for a recorded statement from you, it's all about the good of the insurance, not you. They can then take your words out of context and cherry-pick sentences from your statement.
With a lawyer's presence, they can protect you from the insurance companies. The attorney will ensure that your statement, if taken, isn't taken out of context and all your words are relevant to the case.
Contact
Once you hire a lawyer for your case, the insurance company cannot directly get in touch with you. All contact and communication should go through the lawyer, and this will protect your proper long term.
When you are injured in a crash with a drunk driver, you are eligible for compensation. Here's how you can ensure you protect your rights to the claim when it happens. You also find out how a lawyer can help you with the claim.
